The Campaign Builder's Guild

How do you make maps for your campaign?

I've recently created two (http://juergen.the-huberts.net/dnd/urbis/img/PoliticalMap.jpg) maps (http://juergen.the-huberts.net/dnd/urbis/img/DetailMap.jpg) for Urbis with AutoRealm (http://autorealm.sourceforge.net/index.php), a freeware mapping program. I like its ability to create fractal lines - this makes creating realistic-looking coastlines and rivers much easier. But I have discovered that it gets really slow if you have a large map with lots of individual symbols on it.

So I will probably use it to fix approximate positions for all locations I have mentioned. But once I've finished all those, I will create a basic coastline and river map and use GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/) to add in details...

What are you using to create maps?

Jurgen, usually I hand-draw maps, simply because I've never been very good at using mapping programs.  Recently though, I did something very simimlar to your idea; I used AutoRealm to draw out the coastlines and the rivers, and then I added in the  details with PSP, and it's working nicely.  I can't wait until I'm done.

small area overland maps can be done pretty easily on photoshop, thats how i do those.... town maps i pretty much have to "borrow" from other sources, and world maps i either use worldbuilder (an old shareware program), or i do the "borrowing" thing again.

I'm terrible at map programs and digital art.

I've been hand-sketching maps for the Jade Stage and scanning them, with no real interest (yet) in making a truly polished and professional looking map.

When I get the time, and when I'm really happy with the location of everything in the setting, I'll do a really meticulous hand-drawn map, with the look of those classy old piratey-era maps as a goal.

What I've been planning to do for a while (and still haven't gotten around to yet) is to draw a bunch of blank maps, just landmass outlines and geology features. Then scan them and add national boundaries and cities with digital editing. I'm hoping it'll cure my problems involving terrible-looking map labels, and give me flexibility to rename and move things if I desire.

Fractal Mapper 7.0 for large scale.
Bryce 5 for small scale stuff.

I use a program which is simply enough called MapMaker, which can be found at www.demonspawn.net . It's not to be confused with Map Maker, which I also have but never use because I feel it is not all that great. :)

i draw them by hand. check out my word Astraea in hoewbrew for my map i did for it.

Nice map, So-Keher.  I see that you used a bit of Forgotten Realms map as influence, while also keeping things rather unique.  Have you done any in color?

Actually yeah I have, I was workin gon a large-scale map a long time ago. It is on 3' wide paper though so i don't know if i can scan it.

Here is a sample of my work in color. It is on a special type of paper so the scan is not as clear as i would have liked, sorry!

Hope you like it PS: i did it in prismacolor on antiqued 80 weight paper (i think)

(//../../e107_files/public/1152579820_123_FT8659_colormapsample.gif)

That is pretty.

error ignore this

Quote from: Luminous CrayonThat is pretty.

lol thanks.

oops double post. got the quote thingy right tho!

I make my maps using photoshop.

I sketch a rough on paper, then scan it in and gradually add all the details i need on separate layers, so that for each map, i can show only the stuff i want to.

also, this allows me to easily zoom in on a certain portion of the map and then increase the amoun tof detail for local maps.

Here's a map I made for my CS, it's an area the PC's are in right now. I made it using AutoRealm:
(http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1913/map6ht.jpg)

The link you gave is broken.  For some reason, "www.thecbg.org" was replaced by ".."

I used imageshack instead of attaching a file this time... Not sure if you can see it now (Picture is in the other reply, not this one).

Sorry 'bout that, the uploading files thing is annoying and buggy (like much of e107) and we'll probably just disable it and allow a different method of direct uploading.

I don't, or at least I haven't done the one used in this example. I am fortunate enough to have someone in my play-group who's done it for me. Someone who's much better at this than I.

But...

He's also teaching me how they are done. Even if I just do not seem to have the artistic talent to manage mountains. (But if you need a dungeon map (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/geekling/checkers.jpg) I'm your gal.) So it may still be of some use for those of you that does possess this quality.

What is used is a scalable vector graphics program. Such as  Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/) and finally finished off and prettyfied in gimp or photoshop.   To produce things like this one (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/geekling/map_halfsize2.jpg) of Crescent Bay. (Linked, because it's big.)

The reason for this rather than all in gimp or photoshop, is of course for the scaleability. To be able to zoom in and pull out smaller areas of the map, without loosing the detail or have it go all pixelized on you.
For instance, a small area of the above map scaled up lots.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/geekling/G_Map1.jpg)

Looks nice! But how fast are these vector-based programs? I mean, for the Detail map I linked to above, I used AutoRealm, and the whole thing slowed to a crawl once I had put lots of individual icons into it (like all those mountains)...

(Incidentally, if you are doing dungeon plans, do you also do building floorplans?  ;) )

Quote from: Jürgen HubertLooks nice! But how fast are these vector-based programs? I mean, for the Detail map I linked to above, I used AutoRealm, and the whole thing slowed to a crawl once I had put lots of individual icons into it (like all those mountains)...

(Incidentally, if you are doing dungeon plans, do you also do building floorplans?  ;) )

The program itself. Well, I haven't noticed them slowing down on the basis of size of map or number of objects.

But, and it is a big but, it's probably not the fastest method of generating a map. Every little blob and line is hand drawn.  :shockandawe: That does take some time.
It is quite possible that there are methods of speeding things up like generating the outline in a random fractal map generator, import it and convert it to an SVG. and rather than drawing each mountain individually, like Kris does (as I said, I don't do mountains, mountains will be the end of me!) draw one or two and duplicate them. But even that would take time to set up.

So, in all. Perhaps not the option for a quick map. But you've got to admit, they're impressive. :)

I suppose, really floorplans is a better word for it than dungeon maps. As long as they're based on a grid and not organic shapes I can cope. So yes... I do floorplans. ;)

Well, I'll give Inkscape a try - thanks for the link. I wasn't really happy with AutoRealm, apart from the fractal coastline, and I'll just retrace my current map with it and see if it works better. Since I have a graphic tablet, this shouldn't take too much time. And I do want this map to look professional one day.

Oh, and if you have some floorplans to show off, by all means post them here.   ;)

Thanks for the tip about Inkscape! I've been practicing a bit with it, and I'm really enthusiastic about its possibilities - you can see a map I have drawn with it on this page (http://ogcs.wikispaces.com/Maps).

Oh, and if you don't use a graphics tablet - get one. Tracing coastlines and the like with it is very easy and fast.

That's looking great!
I think we have an svg convert :)
I'm just glad I could help, but how do you find it with regards to speed? I think it is a bit larger than the ones I based my comment on how I haven't noticed any slowing down of the program itself.

There is a slight lag, but nowhere as bad as with AutoRealm.

I think it also helps that I'm doing the mountains differently - placing only the ridges instead of lots of little icons uses up a lot less memory. Oh, and it's more accurate and plastic, too...

I'll experiment on how to use GIMP to make the mountains (and rivers) more plastic - I think it should be possible to create some very nice effects with it.

And as I've mentioned in the other thread, here (http://juergen.the-huberts.net/dnd/urbis/img/DetailMap.jpg) are the first results of my experimentation...

I've just started a map workshop (http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=174110) over at ENWorld where I will discuss how I make my maps. If you want to explain in detail how you created yours, please jump right in!

I've updated the Map Workshop recently. Now I have explained how to do forests and prettier, snow-covered mountains - like these:


(//../../e107_files/public/1175591304_100_FT8659_forest4.jpg)


(//../../e107_files/public/1175591304_100_FT8659_mountains6.jpg)

I especially like the forest.

Agreed

I've added some minor stuff about creating plains and desert background.

I usually handdraw my maps, but I've gone through a couple different programs to make them, with varying amounts of success.

1. Photoshop, not so good.
2. Campaign Cartographer 3.  I splurged the 50 bucks on it and kind of regret it, honestly.
3. MS paint.

My MS paint maps are based off of someone's who I found on the Epic Campaign Map's (Or whatever) thread on the WOTC boards.  I believe the campaign world was of Arrusaent, and I eventually developed my own way to make maps in a similar style.  They take a lot longer to do, and you need to have infinite patience with them, but I like it.

I found that using Photoshop, rendering clouds/reverse clouds, turning up the contrast to 100% to make black and white shapes and then copy and paste those black shapes onto MS paint make a really intersting shadow for your coastlinet hat you can fill in.

Example of my MS paint map:
(//../../e107_files/public/1175741893_42_FT8659_test_world_map_with_labels_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1175741893_42_FT8659_test_world_map_with_labels.jpg)

I just use microsoft word draw function...

I made this (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=talrond2dm1.jpg) eons back, when I started gaming in 2003.

I recently found a quite good method of creating maps.

1.) Get some fractal maps from here (http://direpress.bin.sh/tools/world.cgi) (preferrably islands, set "% Water" to 66 or higher, "% Ice" to 0, and play around with the other values)

2.) Save the maps.

3.) Load them in Paint.NET (http://www.getpaint.net).

4.) Use Effect -> Outline.

5.) Use Color Picker + Recolor tools to remove all other colors, so that only the continents' silhouettes remain.

6.) Add a second layer (for demonstration purposes I'll call it "Color"). Set layer settings to "visible" and "Blending mode: multiply".

7.) On "Background" layer, use Magic Wand tool to select all land masses.

8.) Switch to "Color" layer, and use Color Bucket tool to color all marked areas.

9.) Repeat 7.) and 8.) for other features (like mountains, islands, other continents).

10.) Add a third layer ("Writings") and put the map's writings on this layer.

Results can look similar to this:
(//../../e107_files/public/1176043943_233_FT8659_beta_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1176043943_233_FT8659_beta.jpg)


The best thing is, if you used a different original map for each continent, and saved the modified maps in different files before putting them together on a larger map, you can use them to create more detailed maps.

Regards, Ra-Tiel.

Quote from: Ra-TielI recently found a quite good method of creating maps.

<snip>

Thanks! I came up with a variant for GIMP and Inkscape, which you can also see at the linked thread...

Quote from: Jürgen HubertThanks! I came up with a variant for GIMP and Inkscape, which you can also see at the linked thread...

Well, I've tried GIMP once and just found the usabiltiy and user interface horrible. Although the program's features and abilities may be great, using it doesn't really cut it for me. :(

And "Inkscape" I have never heard of...  :?:

And I must admit that my "pretty good" method is only very basic, and - yet - only useful for creating contour maps of larger islands/continents. I'm still trying to figure out a way to make small scale maps and maps incorporating landscape features (mountains, swamps, forests, ...) without breaking the "old-school" look.

I've had alot of success with Fractal Mapper by nbos.com

I sometimes tweak it in photoshop too. :-/

O, been toying around with Paint.NET again and came up with a pretty good (imho) result.

What I've been doing is this...
[spoiler]
...for landmasses
1   Select area
2   Add Noise (100, 0)
3   Unfocus (5)
4   Sharpen (20) 3x
5   Motion blur (25Ã,°, 10)
6   Pencil sketch (20, 20)
7   Ink sketch (99, 100)

...for forrests
1   Select area
2   Paint buckeet (white)
3   Add noise (100, 0)
4   Gaussian blur (10)
5   Frosted glass (5)
6   Pencil sketch (20, 20)
7   Ink sketch (99, 100)

...for mountains
1   Select area
2   Paint bucket (white)
3   Clouds (20, 50)
4   Frosted glass (5)
5   Unfocus (5)
6   Pencil sketch (20, 20)
7   Ink sketch (99, 100)

...for the shore
1   Select land
2   Copy layer
3   Inverse selection
4   Paint bucket (blue)
5   Delete land
6   Gaussian blur as you prefer
[/spoiler]

And the result is this:
(//../../e107_files/public/1179909509_233_FT8659_aeryl_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1179909509_233_FT8659_aeryl.jpg)

Hey, that looks pretty good.  Bravo on that.  I wish I had the patience to work on maps, but I've been spending all my time on other projects recently.

I think your hand-drawn one works pretty well, Ishy.  But if you want a Photoshop SF map, I'd be willing to give it a try.

I hand draw my maps; generally I don't do any touch up, because I like the way they look.  Finally got a scanner to put one up.

[img:width=500]http://www2.hawaii.edu/~ams/threadsmapcompressed.png[/img] (http://www2.hawaii.edu/~ams/threadsmapcompressed.png)

Quote from: Phoenix KnightI think your hand-drawn one works pretty well, Ishy.  But if you want a Photoshop SF map, I'd be willing to give it a try.

I may just take you up on that ;)

Quote from: Ra-TielWell, I've tried GIMP once and just found the usabiltiy and user interface horrible. Although the program's features and abilities may be great, using it doesn't really cut it for me. :(

And "Inkscape" I have never heard of...  :?:

And I must admit that my "pretty good" method is only very basic, and - yet - only useful for creating contour maps of larger islands/continents. I'm still trying to figure out a way to make small scale maps and maps incorporating landscape features (mountains, swamps, forests, ...) without breaking the "old-school" look.

have to[/i] sit down and read the manual and various online tutorials, or else it will be very frustrating because it isn't the most intuitive program right off the bat.

I've run the GIMP on Windows XP, OpenSUSE (a distribution of Linux), and Fedora Core 6 (another distrobution of Linux).  I've had much more pleasant experiences with it on both Linux systems, but it wasn't unusable on Windows XP either.  Its a powerful program with a bit of a learning curve.  If you stick with it for a while, you'll be rewarded.

Inkscape is a different kind of image editing program.  The GIMP and Photoshop are what are called raster graphics editors, which are more useful for image editing.  Vector graphics editors, like Inkscape are more useful for image creation, especially things like animation or stylized things like old school fantasy maps.  However, both the GIMP and Photoshop provide certain vector tools that make them suitable for image creation as well.  Inkscape would probably be the best program for creating maps, but if you don't have a graphics tablet, attempting to fully create digital artwork in the digital realm will not bring great results.

Like the GIMP, I've run Inkscape on Windows XP, OpenSUSE, and Fedora Core 6.  Also like the GIMP and other graphics editors, Inkscape has a bit of a learning curve; as always, its a good idea to read the manual.  I personally find it harder to use, but this is most likely because I don't own a graphics tablet, and I use the GIMP much more. Even without the graphics tablet, Inkscape offers some nifty functions that I use every now and again.  Unlike the GIMP, Inkscape loads very quickly on all operating systems.

To keep the "old school" look, you're going to want to either start off with a hand-drawn map like I do, or invest in a graphics tablet and do it all digitally.  There's really no other way that I know of.

Quote from: limetomOk, I think its important to go over this since these kinds of comments come up alot. [...]

Admittedly it's been some time since I've last tried the GIMP (call me a burned child :P ), perhaps things have changed a little. I know it is OSS, but I also don't necessarily believe in the dogma that OSS is the answer to all questions. My main gripe with OSS is that it usually lacks in the department "usability" and "user interface". My prime example for tis theory is XFig. This (http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/linux/2001/02/15/graphics/xfig.gif) is not what a good UI is supposed to look like! At least not in the 21st century. :-/

Contrary to the GIMP, I found Inkscape (which I have tried recently) rather intuitive. Of course, I haven't delved into the depth of its functions, but some things go quite easy. The primary benefit of a vector graphics program compared to a raster graphics program is imho that vector graphics are scalable on a lossless base, while raster graphics always "pixelate" if scaled improperly.

Quote from: limetomTo keep the "old school" look, you're going to want to either start off with a hand-drawn map like I do, or invest in a graphics tablet and do it all digitally.  There's really no other way that I know of.

The problem is: I don't have talent for hand-drawn maps. And a graphis tablet won't help me, when I'm already incapable of producing a good looking map with pen&paper. ;)

An alternative would be a purely digital workflow. Like my example from above. I first got the basic outline from a fractal random generator off the web, then proceeded to modify the continents to my needs (scaling, morphing, ...) and then colored it (all with Paint.NET).

As I mentioned in another thread, it's been awhile since I've been able to use photoshop, my main map-making utility, but since I've been using Linux lately, I've managed to figure out a few simple things in GIMP. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to get an aged look without relying on coffee stains yet, though.

A couple quick maps I made today:

Edit- Hmm. I don't know why they didn't upload...

Well I've been fantasy mapping on a semi-pro basis for about a year - campaign mapping for myself for years, however.

I actually own Profantasy Campaign Cartographer 3 and do use it on occasion, though Profantasy shipped me Dungeon Designer and City Designer for free - to better serve their client base with my Gamer Printshop business.) I purchased Dundjinni and was given Fractal Mapper by NBOS.

Despite the software above I prefer using Xara Xtreme for most of my mapping as it is a hybrid vector drawing application and light-duty image editor. I always use Xara to composite my maps from parts created in other applications, if I don't create them entirely using Xara.

About 50% of the time I prefer to hand-draw my maps, digitally scan them and finish them in Xara Xtreme.

Regarding Photoshop and GIMP, although I have used Photoshop for over 12 years, I am starting to switch over to GIMP even in my pro shop - the price is too good to pass up (free!)

Those that mention above that Photoshop and GIMP don't work for them since they are so NOT user friendly, though I agree somewhat - do what I did and go visit cartographersguild.com Pyrandon has an excellent mapping tutorial using Photoshop, and RobA has an even better tutorials using GIMP. I used RobA's tutorials to get my last GIMP map to meet my expectations.

And since I am a regular at cartographersguild and the CBG is a sister site in the Alliance, your best bet is to post a map using whatever you're comfortable with or if trying out GIMP/PS then post the map at CG and ask for help. You will be extremely surprised by the response and the sound tips. If you act on the advice, I can guarantee you'll have a satisfactory map in short order.

Many newbies to GIMP and other apps show up in CG, then within a month a created a masterpiece.

My 2 cents, anyway!

I tend to make my maps using Ms Paint, really quick sketch, which I then Port into Photoshop to finish working on them.  If not I will hand draw them, I am illustrator wipping up map in pencil is so much faster, then scan them into Photoshop.  I also use map maker that came with second edition character generator.  It really rocks

Here's my winning November and January challenge entries at Cartgraphers' Guild.

The top map is Superstition Valley (old west map) November Challenge Winner. This is a completely hand-drawn map, scanned and ported to Xara Xtreme for compositing and coloring. Note: each mountain, cactus, structure, warning symbol, compass rose (cow skull) are invidual map objects. I created a set with over a hundred individual drawings. The mountains consist of multiple pieces allowing a mapper using my hand-drawn objects to composite their own desert map and still be hand-drawn.

The next three maps are part of a multi-page handout, supposed to be an invitation by a merchant to a lavish party - A Thousand Welcomes (arabic motif). Except for the map on the third page which is hand-drawn, all other pages and graphics were generated in Xara Xtreme.

My December challenge entry, which came in second (no award) is available as a PDF download:
(linked from Campaign Design & Elements Forum...)  http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?46862 (//hyperlinkWitch'sRock)


(//../../e107_files/public/1207635531_453_FT8659_superstitionvalley_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1207635531_453_FT8659_superstitionvalley.jpg)

(//../../e107_files/public/1207635531_453_FT8659_aidid_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1207635531_453_FT8659_aidid.jpg)

(//../../e107_files/public/1207635531_453_FT8659_inviteletter_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1207635531_453_FT8659_inviteletter.jpg)

(//../../e107_files/public/1207635531_453_FT8659_invitemap_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1207635531_453_FT8659_invitemap.jpg)

I finally got around to updating my map of Urbis.

Warning, huge image!

[spoiler](http://urbis.wdfiles.com/local--files/known-lands/KnownLands.png)[/spoiler]

This map isn't quite as visually appealing as my old map (http://juergen.the-huberts.net/dnd/urbis/img/DetailMap.jpg). On the other hand, it was made entirely with Inkscape, which allows me to update it easily and frequently - which was a problem with the old version. I've also made the Inkscape data file available, which you can download here (http://urbis.wikidot.com/local--files/known-lands/KnownLands.svg). This allows GMs to customize their own map of the setting...

It looks very nice.

Thanks. I eventually want to make a fancier version, but first I want to expand the setting and put some more detail into the various regions - wide stretches of the map are still fairly empty.

I think that the simplicity could even be called a good thing.

The style I ultimately want to aim for is something like this:

[spoiler](http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/ward_1912/russia_europe_19_century.jpg)[/spoiler]

Yeah, that would definitely be a good style for your world, Jurgen.  But great improvement already!  Your new map is very pleasant to look at, and easy to follow.  Do you ever go over to the Cartographers Guild?

Quote from: IshmaylYeah, that would definitely be a good style for your world, Jurgen.  But great improvement already!  Your new map is very pleasant to look at, and easy to follow.  Do you ever go over to the Cartographers Guild?

I did register there, but given that map making was only a minor part of my world-building efforts I didn't spend a lot of time there. But maybe I should go there again...

Quote from: Jürgen Hubert

Quote from: IshmaylYeah, that would definitely be a good style for your world, Jurgen.  But great improvement already!  Your new map is very pleasant to look at, and easy to follow.  Do you ever go over to the Cartographers Guild?

I did register there, but given that map making was only a minor part of my world-building efforts I didn't spend a lot of time there. But maybe I should go there again...

You should. They can be very helpful.